


so naked for immortal work (his shoulders marched against the dark)

by aletterinthenameofsanity



Series: author's favorites [46]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Episode: s02e04 Meat, Eventual Happy Ending, Gwen Bashing, Immortal Ianto Jones, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Temporary Character Death, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 09:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12861840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity
Summary: A number of things can happen to cells when they are exposed to strange energies. A girl with supernatural powers living on a Rift can become a portal in and of herself. A man containing the power of a vortex can become immortal.A man who has been exposed to the Void, who lived on a Rift for years and years, whose planet has been dragged through space, who has been electrocuted by a Cyberman and jolted back to life by the power of a time-soaked kiss- his cells look nothing like any others’.His is a being beyond imagining.





	so naked for immortal work (his shoulders marched against the dark)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MiladyDragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiladyDragon/gifts).



> Title is from e.e. cummings.

_And if you think I've got a heart of stone_

_You couldn't be more wrong_

_You might think I've been afraid too long_

_Afraid of love_

_Been burned too many times to love easily_

_Don't mistake me, my love runs deep_

_But it don't come easy, it don't come cheap_

_-Isaiah ,_ Don't Come Easy

 

 

It would be so easy to get jealous over Jack. After all, he flirts with literally everyone, especially Gwen. He flirts as easily as he breathes, constantly touching people and exchanging flirtatious smiles.

Ianto never does, though. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that what they have is fleeting, that their relationship is doomed to be less than a fraction of Jack’s life. Perhaps it is the knowledge that Jack would never condone sleeping with someone who’s in a relationship (at least not without the knowledge of the other person in the relationship). Perhaps it's that Ianto recognizes that flirting to Jack  _is_ as casual as breathing, that it's his way of being nice to to others.

(Perhaps it’s that, after Lisa, Ianto has no grounds to stand on when it comes to taking lovers outside of their relationship.)

* * *

_His hands are covered in burns from Lisa’s malfunctioning charger. His face is stinging from being electrocuted by a Cyberman, and his lips buzz...why, he can't tell, but to be honest that doesn't really matter. He's just finished cleaning up the bodies that Lisa left behind._

_“Kill me,” he says when Jack walks in. “Section 1, chapter 4, paragraph 5: How to Deal With Traitors. Interrogation, then execution.”_

_Jack squats down. “I’m not gonna kill you, Ianto Jones.”_

_“It’s protocol, sir,” Ianto says automatically. The floor is clean, but his hands are not. He has the blood of his girlfriend on his hands and a fracture in his heart. He just wants the hurt to_ end.

_“Torchwood One is gone,” Jack says, and hauls him up by his arm. “We run things differently around here. We’re a family, Ianto.”_

_Ianto swallows, but still won’t look Jack in the eye. “Even after…?” He’d have thought that the revelation that he’d been sleeping with Jack to protect Lisa would permanently embitter the Director to him._

_Jack nods, though a flash of pain crosses his face. “Even after.”_

_Something in Ianto’s heart stirs._

* * *

Sometimes Ianto doubts his own firm belief in Jack. Not in Jack’s character, not in his belief that Jack knows how to make the right decisions when it comes to their job- the fairies comes to mind- and definitely not in Jack's selflessness. He'd fed his life force to Abaddon, convinced that he'd die.

No, he doubts his beliefs in whether Jack would leave him for Gwen. From the way she’s constantly flirting with him, from the way Jack seems to automatically flirt back. From the way Gwen got to sit next to Jack's body, almost guarding it from the rest of them who had known him longer and cared as much.

(When he'd seen Lisa, he's known she was dead. He wasn't going to make the mistake of trusting the ghost of Lisa twice. He'd tried to stop everyone, tried not to let the Void get opened, but then Owen had shot Jack and Gwen had revealed Jack's secret and they'd opened the Void and...

The world ended.)

And then Jack had left, and Ianto, Jack's second-in-command, had taken charge over the protests of a certain copper. He knew the lay of the Hub far better than she did, knew more about Torchwood Three than maybe even Tosh did. (The only person who knows more than him is Jack, and that's because he's been here for at least a hundred years. The written records don't hide much.)

* * *

Jack returns and Ianto breathes a sigh of relief. Their Captain is back. He prefers being Archivist to Acting Command, and-

"I came back for you," Jack says, looking Ianto dead in the eye, and Ianto swallows. He can't possibly mean- "All of you," Jack adds, turning to the rest of the team, and Ianto breathes a sigh of- relief? Regret? Disappointment? He can't tell.

* * *

_Jack is Ianto’s first._

_Not his first sexual partner, or even the first person Ianto’s fallen in love with, but the first man._

* * *

Everything implodes when Jack gives Gwen Retcon after she insults Tosh, Owen, Ianto, and Jack.

“I’m different than all of you. _I_ have someone to go home to. I still have a life outside of this place. I _won't_ use Retcon on Rhys!"

Jack's face is unreadable. "Really, Gwen?" He asks, voice stony, and she nods. Ianto can barely breathe, torn between being indignant about how she seems to get away with everything and worried about what Jack might do.

Gwen eventually leaves, smug as Jack has said nothing else, and Jack returns to his rooms beneath the Hub without a word. Ianto doesn't know what to think- is Jack giving in to Gwen? Is he going to break regulation and endanger Torchwood just to give Her what she wants?

Ianto goes to bed that night with a heavy heart.

-

Lunch the next day, Ianto notices that Jack is very careful to place one sandwich in front of Gwen rather than any others. Ianto's questions are answered when When's head falls softly against the table."

Jack’s face is dark as Gwen falls unconscious. “We all have someone, Gwen Cooper.”

"Retcon?" Ianto asks, speaking for him as well as Tosh and Owen, who both are gaping.

Jack nods, and Ianto places a hand on Jack’s shoulder, knowing how much this must hurt him.

Jack turns to them all. "None of us are monsters," he says, and to Ianto's shock Jack takes Ianto's hand in his. Jack alternates between looking at Ianto and looking at Tosh and Owen. "We all have hearts. Gwen was gravely mistaken about her being the most human of us. Being human means struggling, learning to deal with trouble as it comes. It means recovering from loss without expecting to always get your way. You all knew and recognized this. Gwen Cooper...not so much."

A pause, and then: "Well, good riddance," Owen says, taking a bite of his sandwich. "She was bloody annoying."

Tosh glances between Gwen and Ianto. "Yeah," she says, "Good riddance."

* * *

_It is obvious that Gwen idolizes Jack, that she thinks him the hero of Torchwood. She hangs off of every word he speaks, bats her eyes at him, treats his word as gospel even when he’s blatantly wrong._

_Ianto never made the mistake of casting Jack as the hero._

* * *

They end up hiring three new members to Torchwood: Martha Jones, Mickey Smith, and Luke Smith. They fit in seamlessly with the team, Mickey and Martha as field agents with Martha also the team medic (leaving Owen to focus on autopsy work) and Luke as a tech analyst with Tosh. They all get on much better than Gwen ever did, getting along with teammates and teasing without getting offended. Soon enough, they're all like one big family.

(Jack has no idea how Ianto managed to convince Sarah Jane to let Luke work with them, but he’s constantly in awe of Ianto.)

(Ianto never fully realizes this, no matter how many times Jack compliments him on his work skills. It's just another part of the job.)

* * *

"So one day, we'll die, and you'll just keep living."

A nod.

"That must break your heart."

* * *

_Years ago, Ianto Jones joined Torchwood One. He signed contract upon contract swearing everything save his soul over to them._

_He showed up his first day with a suit covering lingering bruises, shoes shined to hide the scuffs from muggings, and a pleasant smile. Ianto is a Torchwood One employee now, using his eidetic memory and knack for organization to become a quiet archivist rather than an active field agent, blowing up things and killing people. He is not a criminal anymore. He can make a positive difference._

_(He should have read the contract more closely.)_

* * *

“Don’t forget me,” Ianto pleads, feeling the last gasps of air leave his lungs.

Jack’s eyes are suspiciously wet as he says, “Never could.” Ianto can hear the conviction in his voice, and he’s thankful for it as he fades away into death. These are his last few moments.

“I love you,” he gasps, saying the words that he’s sure he’ll never get another opportunity to say.

Jack leans down and presses a kiss to Ianto’s forehead, and Ianto closes his eyes.

* * *

A number of things can happen to cells when they are exposed to strange energies. A girl with supernatural powers living on a Rift can become a portal in and of herself. A man containing the power of a vortex can become immortal.

A man who has been exposed to the Void, who lived on a Rift for years and years, whose planet has been dragged through space, who has been electrocuted by a Cyberman and jolted back to life by the power of a time-soaked kiss- his cells look nothing like any others’.

His is a being beyond imagining.

* * *

_Jack dances once with Mickey, the groom, trading barbs the whole time, while Martha dances with Ianto. Ianto’s never seen her happier than she does now, red leather jacket over top of a simple white dress. Ianto never expected his two friends to get this far, but he can’t be happier now that they are._

_When the song ends, Tosh comes up and asks for a dance with Martha. Ianto bows out and the two women twirl around, talking about something or other science related._

_“Can I have this dance?” a familiar voice says, and Ianto turns to find his boyfriend there, grinning brilliantly._

_“Of course,” Ianto says, and takes Jack’s hand._

* * *

And then Ianto gasps awake, clutching at the lapels of Jack’s coat.

Jack gapes. “Ianto?” he asks, voice breaking.

“I’m alive,” Ianto rasps, shocked. “I didn’t die.”

“You did,” Jack says, and Ianto sees that the green light and the 456 are gone. The tears on Jack’s face- there are _tears_ on Jack’s face- are still wet, though he has clearly stopped crying. “You had no pulse. You stopped breathing."

“I came back,” Ianto says, and grips Jack's arm. "I came back."

Jack nods. "That you did."

Ianto grins, though he feels exhausted. It feels like stick wall hit him straight in the chest, but he's alive. He's bloody  _alive._ "Can't get rid of me that easy, can you?"

Jack grins, a shade of his usual brilliant smile coming back. "Looks like I'll be able to keep you and those gorgeous Welsh vowels around for a bit longer, Ianto Jones."

"Looking forward to it, sir."


End file.
